Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said ‘Repeating a falsehood doesn't make it true’ in response to opposition claims Catholic schools are suffering under his Gonski 2.0 school funding policies.

He has dismissed the allegation by offering a flood of figures, insisting ‘It is untrue’.

Here are some notes Mr Turnbull may care to tuck away in his Question Time folders:

• Despite the transitional measures designed to protect Catholic schools from the full force of Gonski 2.0, over 600 Catholic schools nationally have already lost an average of nearly $700,000 each compared with last year, an average just under $2,000 per student.
• Analysis of 2016 Census data shows that the families who attend Catholic schools in each statistical area tend to have lower incomes that the families who attend independent schools, repeating the pattern shown in the 2011 Census. This means the Turnbull Government’s funding model systematically short-changes Catholic schools while overfunding elite independent schools.
• The Turnbull Government’s assumption that Catholic systems can reallocate funding to schools that have lost funding through some ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ sleight is wrong. As a result, many Catholic schools have been forced to increase their fees this year thanks to Turnbull Government policies – already eating up the $550 per annum tax cuts for ‘everyday Australians’ the Prime Minister has made the centrepiece of his 2018 Budget and re-election strategy.

Repeating a falsehood doesn’t make it true. Neither does playing rhetorical games.

Further information: Christian Kerr, 0402 977 352

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